


One Week In The House Of Doofenshmirtz

by Bronygirl



Category: Phineas and Ferb
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-18
Updated: 2015-01-21
Packaged: 2018-01-16 06:14:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1335061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bronygirl/pseuds/Bronygirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Fletcher/Flynn family go on holiday where platypuses aren't allowed, but luckily, Candace has a friend who can look after him for the week.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Moving Into The House Of Doof

**Author's Note:**

> Wasn't sure whether to put a warning for rape/non-con, but it's so incredibly brief and barely anything happens but just wanted to make sure.  
> Anyway, please bear with me since it's been years since I last wrote fanfic.

 

"But mom," Phineas whined, "I don't want Perry to stay with strangers. Why can't we take him on holiday with us?"

Linda sighed as she packed the last of the suitcases into the boot of their car. She found it hard to break it to the boys that Perry couldn't join them. Ferb seemed to be taking it well, but Phineas wouldn't give in.

Starting up the car, they looked at their house as they left, not seeing it for the next week.

"You know we can't take Perry everywhere we go. We've done our best the last five years to try, but it's not always possible. Besides, he's going to be well looked after by Vanessa...What's her surname, Candace?"

"I don't know. It was something long...I think it was German or Dutch or something."

"If I recall correctly," Ferb piped up, "it was Doofenshmirtz."

Perry's gripped on tight to Phineas on hearing that name.

"Well, anyway, she's going to look after Perry whilst we're away since she lives in town. If it wasn't for the fact that Isabella is in Mexico, Baljeet has gone to India to see family and Bueford...well, it's not that I don't really trust him, but...anyway, it'll be fine."

"Yes, I'm sure she's a lovely young lady. And he'd probably be happier than in a kennel stuck in a cage for a week."

"Aww boy, it'll be alright." Phineas told the teal platypus in his arms, who 'krrrr'd in response. "I'm sorry we can't take you with us. In a perfect world, everywhere would be a place platypus would always be welcome."

 

The drive to Doofenshmirtz's place seemed to pass by so quickly, and before they knew it, they parked up outside the large grey block of flats.

"Candace and I will take Perry and the stuff up whilst you boys stay in the car with your father."

Phineas hugged Perry tight.

"Bye boy, we're gonna miss you, but we'll be back to pick you up real soon."

Ferb stroked Perry's head.

"Don't worry, Perry, I know Vanessa will take good care of you. I will miss you though."

Perry clutched to Phineas' t-shirt, making Candace struggle to pull him away.

"Come on, meat-brick, it's time to go. Mooooooom, I can't get Perry!"

"Alright Candace, take this then," she handed Candace Perry's bed, litter box and food, completely ignoring how she struggled under the weight. "Come on now, Perry. We're not abandoning you. This is only for a week, I promise."

Craftily, Linda rubbed Perry's belly, and he couldn't help but relax at the feeling. Seizing her chance, she quickly pulled him away, holding him in close to her in case he tried to struggle free.

"Ah-ha! Sorry Perry."

 

Reaching the penthouse floor, Linda knocked on the door, Perry still held close to her chest in case he tried to escape and they were greeted by Vanessa Doofenshmirtz.

"Hi Vanessa!"

"Hey Candace! Hi Mrs Flynn!"

"Hello there, Vanessa. I really appreciate you doing this for us on such short notice. So this is all the stuff you'll need over the next week. I hope your parents don't mind."

Candace put the stuff down beside the door, resting her weary arms.

"Of course not. Well, actually my dad is divorced so my mom definitely won't mind since she won't be here. My dad, well, I know he'll be okay so long as I take responsibility. So is that the little guy?"

Linda smiled, putting Perry down on the floor.

"Vanessa, meet Perry."

Vanessa looked at the teal platypus sitting on the floor with its dopey unfocused expression and immediately recognised him, but tried not to show it.  
  
"Hello there boy." she said, kneeling down and stroking his head, definitely sure this was the same Perry she sees quite regularly. "I'm sure he'll be no trouble."

"Right, well we'll leave him to you and we'll be back in a week. If you need anything our contact details are on the card with his bed."

"Okay then. Have a wonderful holiday."

Together they watched Linda and Candace leave in the lift. Closing the door, Vanessa looked at Perry and then his pile of stuff.

 

Vanessa picked out a spot for his bed and litter box in the kitchen that was out of the way and then filled his water bowl. Perry walked over and started drinking immediately. He didn't have time to drink before they left the house so he was thirsty.

Gently she stroked his head.

"So...Perry. Look, just so you know, I know it's you, but since this isn't the first time I've had to deal with an agent's identity and host family being discovered, I want you to know that I'm not going to tell anyone. Especially my dad obviously, but I don't think he'd actually be of any harm to your family anyway, but just to be sure, probably best to act like you're not Agent P for the whole week if possible. I'll even try to distract him from building some whacky gadget for a while if it'll help."  
  
Perry 'krrrr'd in response and she took it as a yes.

"Good boy."

 

For a few hours, there was no one but them in the house. Well, there was Norm as well, but he seemed happier sitting in the broom cupboard clearing out his memory board. Vanessa was sitting at the kitchen table with her MP3 player on, but only one headphone in so that she could still hear things around her. In front of her was the latest copy of 'Goth Teen Magazine'.

Perry still felt on edge knowing that he was in the Doofenshmirtz house but had to act normal the whole time. He decided that if he spent most of the time on his bed, the hours might hopefully fly by. Gradually, he began to calm down, only to tense again when he heard the front door open.

"Vanessa? Are you home? What is that smell? I'm sure it's familiar but I don't know why. Have you been swimming in a lake or something?"

Taking a deep breath, Vanessa went to greet her father.

"Dad, you're home! Look, you remember I said I had to do a favour for a friend over the half term? Well I'm looking after her pet for the week whilst she's on holiday, okay?"

"Fine fine, but so long as you clear up its poop. What is it anyway?"

"It's...a platypus."

There was an abrupt silence, which was just as quickly broken.

"Seriously? Who would have one of those for a pet? They can sting, you know, believe me I've read up on them."

 

Vanessa assumed this meant her dad had no issues with the arrangements, and possibly may not ask anything more about it, at least for now.

Perry spent the rest of the evening trying to act normal, which wasn't easy he heard Heinz talking at dinner about inators and such. At one point he almost choked on his own food when Heinz approached him and stroked his back.

"You know it is kinda cute."

He decided he would definitely keep his distance as his best chance of not breaking his cover to Heinz. After dinner whilst they sat in the living room watching TV, Perry stayed on his bed in the kitchen with his photo of Phineas and Ferb.

When he heard approaching footsteps, he quickly hid the photo again.

"Perry?" Vanessa said in a hushed voice, "Don't you want to come and join us? It's okay, I think my dad definitely doesn't recognise you."

Despite her assurance, he shook his head.

"Alright then, but if you change your mind, you're welcome to. Is there anything you need?"

Again he shook his head.

"I'll leave you alone then."

He couldn't help but smile. Really he did appreciate her caring for him, but having to be normal around the man he's usually an agent around wasn't all that easy for him.

 

By ten o'clock, the Doofenshmirtz household fell silent, apart from Heinz's snoring. The slight creak noises at the front door stirred none of the occupants, and neither did the soft footsteps. It wasn't until Vanessa let out a blood curdling scream that Perry and Heinz awoke from their beds, running to her room to a bone chilling sight.  
  
Vanessa was being pinned down to her bed by an unknown man who was trying to muffle her screams, his other hand was up her nightshirt cupped around one of her breasts. Heinz immediately went on the attack, wielding a lamp as a weapon but the man's strength was better and he was swatted away like a fly.  
  
Perry couldn't play dumb anymore, fedora on, he leapt towards the intruder and stabbing him in the shoulder with his venomous spurs. The man screamed as the venom entered his body, the pain excruciating.

 

Gripping onto his shoulder, the man rolled onto the floor, unable to stop yelling.

"S-stay away from me! You s-stupid duck-beaver!" he managed to say, stumbling a few times before getting to his feet and fleeing, swaying into walls and a table on his way out.

 

Heinz got back to his feet and went to his daughter, pulling her into a hug.

"Vanessa, are you okay? Oh my god, my poor baby girl!"

"I'm fine, dad! Let go! LET GO!"

She couldn't bear anyone touching her right now, and she curled up from her father's contact as much as possible. It was only then that Heinz looked away from her, noticing Perry.

"Perry the platypus? Wait a minute, you're the platypus we're looking after? Really? Vanessa, did you know about this?"

"Well I..."

Heinz stood, pointing at Perry.

"You've got to be kidding me, I've spent all evening walking around with my nemesis under my nose and you never told me?"

Through a strained voice that sounded like she was going to cry at any moment, Vanessa retorted.

"Well what if he wasn't Perry? What if he was just a normal platypus? Then what would have happened with that guy? He could have."

Vanessa felt the tears flow as she broke down. Heinz gave up arguing, sitting beside his daughter and pulling her into a hug again. This time she didn't fight against it.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, I didn't think. You're right, it's okay. I would never have forgiven myself if he violated you."

 

Perry felt he had no place in this moment, so instead went to investigate where and how the intruder got in. Checking the front door, he found it had somehow been opened from the outside without leaving a scratch on the door itself. Whether this man somehow had a key to the door, he wasn't sure, but was thinking the locks should be changed anyway just to be careful.

A few neighbours had heard the screams and had poked their heads out their front doors. They weren't at all surprised to see Perry though as they were used to him being around. Perry 'krrrr'd and they returned to their rooms without question.

 

Vanessa was now clutching onto her father tightly, sobbing whilst he rubbed her back in an attempt to soothe her.

"What do we tell your mother?"

"You can't tell mom about this!"

"But she needs to know."

"NO! What if she considers this place unsafe and won't let me stay with you anymore, then what?"

"I guess you're right, but I promise this will never happen again."

 

They sat in silence for a few moments until Vanessa started to calm down.

"I'll go wake up Norm and get him to guard the door. There's little we can do till morning. Although I doubt he'll be coming back anytime soon either. You just wait there, sweetheart, and I'll be back in a minute."  


Heinz left the room to get Norm when Perry got his attention, pointing to the open front door and trying to explain that this was how the intruder got in.

"Really? The front door. So how did he do it when it doesn't look like forced entry?"

At that, Perry shrugged. Even he couldn't work it out. Still, it was a start and he knew Norm was probably going to be put on security.

Passing by Vanessa's room, he checked to see if she was okay.

 

"Perry. It's okay, you can come in."

He entered but still stood a respectable distance away from her, unsure. Vanessa, now also dressed in her dressing gown, knelt down before him, pulling him into a hug and crying a few tears.

"Thanks for saving me. If you weren't here, I don't know what would have happened."

 

Gently, she stroked down his back, and he krrrr'd in delight. He was so used to Phineas and Ferb fussing over him. To spend the day with little to no attention had been driving him mad.

"I know right now my dad is probably annoyed that I lied about you, but once he calms down, I know he'll be grateful for what you did tonight."

Perry stayed with her until Heinz returned, muttering under his breath.

"Well I've got Norm guarding the front door now and it is locked again. In the morning we'll get it sorted out and find out who he was so that I can mess him up."

"Dad, there's no need. I'm okay. Perry sorted him out so, as you said, he won't be back anytime soon."

Heinz muttered under his breath again and left the room.


	2. Breakfast At Doofenshmirtz's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Perry and Heinz share bed space and OWCA gets updated on Agent P's whereabouts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, hopefully some of you guys were willing to come back for the next chapter.  
> I should have also pointed out in the first bit, I am British, so if there are words that some of you don't get, I apologise. I do try to make sure I use American words for stuff whenever

With Norm now guarding the house, everyone returned to their beds, except for Perry who couldn't calm down. Quietly as possible, he checked every inch of the outer corridor and Vanessa's room whilst trying best not to appear as nosy. He certainly didn't want to find anything that was not his business.  
  
Down on the corner was an air vent. It was big enough for a human of slim build to get though, but the intruder couldn't really be described as that. He still decided best to check, getting it open and crawling through the air ducts.

He wasn't sure where he was actually going, and soon wasn't even looking where he was going as an air vent below his feet opened and gravity took him as he fell, landing on top of Heinz who was asleep.

  
  
With a yelp, Heinz awoke, yelling again in surprise at finding Perry on top of him.

"Perry the platypus? What are you doing? Just go to bed will you? Norm has got the house protected." he flopped back down and stared up at the open vent, "What were you even doing in the vent? Is this normal for you?"  
  
Perry shrugged, unable to really explain it. Even he wasn't sure what he was doing, but wanted to explore he guessed since he'd not really been around the house properly when working as an agent.

"Don't suppose you could actually reach up and shut it again, could you?"

Perry looked up, knowing there was no way he could jump. He shrugged again.

 

Despite having been just woken up, it didn't stop Heinz from being as talkative as usual.

"You know, Perry, I read up on platypuses in general and read about those barbs you've got on your feet and I'm amazed that in all the fights we've had you've never used them on me."

Perry knew this was going to be long so curled up comfortably on the bed. Heinz continued talking on, oblivious and staring at the ceiling.

"Don't get me wrong though, I'm thankful you haven't because the venom sounds nasty and I could do without it. I mean it's down to you when you use it so you won't use it on someone close to you or on Major Monogram unless you wanted to. Still that guy, whoa, bet he wasn't expecting us to have you here because your venom is like, worse than a dogs bite. "

Heinz looked over at Perry, noticing his position.

"Perry, are you even listening to me anymore?"

He received no response and could only assume he was asleep. Part of him wanted to kick his nemesis off the bed, but then after what had happened this night, he owed him.

  
  
By morning, Perry had rolled around several times and had ended up snuggled close up against the man also occupying the bed, who had also not noticed. It was only when his hand moved and came into contact with Perry's fur that Heinz noticed their closeness.

"Perry the platypus, would you mind scooting over? Personal space, you know?"

Perry didn't move despite the hand pushing at him and simply 'krrrrrr'd at him, still tired.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm still pretty tired too."  


This time, instead of pushing Perry away, he pulled him close to his side.

"Thank you, Perry, for saving my daughter last night. If you weren't here...I don't know what would have happened. I mean, yes, I could have got Norm but he takes so long to boot up and get moving and anything could have happened in that time and...I feel such a failure that I couldn't protect my little girl."

Perry's hand rested atop his own, making him smile.

"Thank you. In fact to show you I'm grateful, for the rest of this week, I'll not build any inators. Does that suit you?"

Perry nodded, yawned, then closed his eyes again.

 

Not long after, they were both asleep. After what must've been a few hours, Perry was awoken by a buzzing noise, noticing his wrist communicator was calling him. Quickly, he left Heinz's room (this time via the door) and answered the call in the empty living room. Pressing the button, the hologram of Major Monogram appeared in front of him.

"Agent P, we were wondering where you were and we found out from one of our other agents that you were currently a resident at the Doofenshmirtz household. I'm very angry that you did not inform us of this sooner. I'm sure you are very aware that you are risking yourself having to be relocated to a different family and nemesis."

"Oh lighten up, Francis." A voice said from behind Perry.

Heinz had seen Perry leave and decided to get up himself.

 

"Doofenshmirtz, this doesn't concern you."

"Well obviously it does since he is my nemesis. I should probably point out that I wasn't here when his family dropped him off so I have no idea who they are. I was even planning to be out when they came to pick him up."

"Despite your surprising act of...kindness, having him under your roof isn't suitable."

"Why not? It's not like I'm going to build any inators with him actually here you know. In fact, I bet you don't even know what went on here last night, do you? Well let me tell you, monobrow, Perry saved my daughter last night from an intruder who...well was trying to do the do with my baby girl. And no, it isn't just some boy she brought home, this guy literally came out of nowhere and...well it was not nice to see...and if it wasn't for Perry, I don't know what would have happened."

Monogram sighed. Why do they even make these rules when they kept being broken?

"In all fairness sir," Carl's voice piped up off hologram, "If Doofenshmirtz doesn't know who his family is and the family don't know he's an agent, then no rules have technically been broken."

"Quiet Carl. We're still dealing with the fact that even though Doofenshmirtz doesn't know the family, his daughter obviously does."

"His daughter has a name you know." Vanessa said from the doorway, dressed in her usual all black ensemble. "And I told this to Perry and I'll say it to you, I know how important the whole secret agent and host family thing is, which is why I promised Perry I'd keep quiet. I was willing to keep quiet before he'd even saved me last night."

Muttering to himself, Monogram cleared his throat, clearly defeated.

"Well, I suppose really as Carl said, no rules have been broken, but if Doofenshmirtz DOES see who your family is, it will undoubtedly lead to relocation. Now, I need to know more on this intrusion and how exactly it was dealt with."

 

It took almost half an hour to go through what happened. Carl listened in and whooped and hollered at the part about Perry giving the man a taste of venom, of course whilst having to be the one to type out the report along the way.

"Well now that we've got a report of it, we will probably need to look into the local hospitals to see if we can find out who this sick individual is. Whilst it's not really in our jurisdiction, we do have to keep an eye on our agents nemesis' as much as the agents themselves. Anyway, as you were, Agent P. Although if Doofenshmirtz agrees to not build anything during your time in their residence, you may be assigned to other missions as a backup."

Perry saluted and the hologram disappeared. He was surprised they took the whole living under Doofenshmirtz's roof thing quite well since he had no idea how he was going to explain it in the first place.

"Right." Heinz started, looking at the clock on the far side wall, "Well I guess I should call a locksmith to change the locks because if that's how he got in we'll have to make sure it doesn't happen again. Or I could just do it myself."

"Daaaaaaaaaad." Vanessa said with a smile, holding out the phone.

"Alright, fine, I'll call someone in. It's not like I'm going to be really _bored_ around here with no inators to build for a whole week."

Begrudgingly, he took the phone from her and went in search of the most recent phone book that had been shoved through their door.

 

Feeling the morning hunger pangs strike, Vanessa made toast for everyone, including Norm. He couldn't eat it obviously, but he appreciated being included in their meals and pretended.

"I cannot believe it." Heinz ranted, "Of _all_ the locksmiths in the tri-state area, there's only one in the whole of Danville, and he can't be here for another four hours. Apparently _other people_ have lock problems that are more important than ours."

"If he does do it today then we should just be thankful. And remember, we can't tell mom about it."

"I don't know, Vanessa, your mother can sense when something is wrong. Or to be more precise she always sensed when _I_ had done something wrong."

Vanessa decided to ignore him as it was sometimes the best way for his anger to fizzle out. She turned to Perry who had finished his own toast, finding it weird sitting at the breakfast table like a human.

"So, Perry, now that you don't have to hide who you are, what do you want to do today?"

Perry shrugged. He doubted he was going to get any missions for today since they'd only just uncovered his whereabouts.

"Well we're going to have to do _something_ because with no inators to build, I'm going to be so bored!" Heinz crossed his arms in a huff but part of him didn't mind since he was struggling for ideas lately.

"Then let's go to the mall!" Vanessa suggested, always one for shopping even though she always chose clothes in black so they pretty much all looked the same.

"Why am I not surprised that the mall was going to be a suggestion?" Heinz sighed, "Alright then, let's go to the mall if it'll make you happy."

"Thanks daddy. I'll go get my purse. You are coming too, aren't you?" She asked Perry.

Without a second thought, he nodded. That way he knew Heinz would be distracted from trying to build anything, well, for now at least.


	3. Getting Too Close

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the two nemesis get closer, Perry tries to distance himself, and Heinz recalls his previous nemesis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully you've made it this far and still want more...

It was strange for Perry to be out on a shopping trip with his nemesis and daughter despite all the things they'd done together before. This wasn't helping Heinz out of a jam or stopping him from an evil scheme but just a nice casual trip out.

"Hey, Perry the platypus, look at that!"

Looking in the window Heinz was pointing to, he saw a teal platypus toy in the window.

"It's like a little stuffed version of you! It's so cute!"

Perry rolled his eyes. Heinz noticed his reaction and scoffed.

"What? You don't like it? Alright mister huffy-puss, what's better than that?"

 

A few shops down was a camping shop. In the window they were displaying the latest make of a swiss army knife. To him, it was a thing of beauty and much more spectacular than what OWCA provided him.

He gazed upon it with its 3 different sized blades, laser pointer, can and bottle opener, 4 different types of screwdriver, magnifying glass, mini pliers, gimlet, ruler, and compass.

"You know those things can be dangerous, especially for you since you're a platypus and all. Doesn't OWCA give you enough supplies to break free of my traps?"

Perry shrugged, not taking his eyes off it. It's not that he wasn't grateful for what he was given, but having the convenience of it all being on one hand held item seemed to fascinate him.

"Then why don't you just tell them you want one?"

 

Before Perry could really dwell on it anymore, Vanessa appeared with two bags and a beaming smile.

"Can't believe Dandee shoes had a one day sale. I got the most awesome black platforms and high heels. Did you guys find anything good?"

"No, not really. Shall we get lunch? We've still got about an hour until the locksmith is due."

"I guess we could do," Vanessa said, looking around at the different choice of food places, "but where do we eat?"

After several silly games of rock, paper, scissors(Heinz won), they all went for bratwurst hot dogs.

 

As night time came, the locks were now changed but Norm remained on guard just in case. Perry made himself comfortable in Vanessa's room, guarding her like a dog would for its owner.

At the slightest sound, he was up and listening intently.

"Perry, it's okay, the air vent does that sometimes. Stop pacing around and go to sleep."

Perry ignored her though, peeking through the curtains like he was expecting someone to be on the other side of the window, which was near impossible at this high up.

"Perry, come here."

Vanessa wanted to assure him, but was afraid to touch him when he was in this state.

"Perry, why don't you go check on my dad. I know he wouldn't admit it but I think this whole thing has shook him up more than it has me."

He knew she was trying to be brave about the whole thing, but Perry felt he had a duty of care over her.

"You know once this week is over you'll be back with your family. Then what? You won't be here to protect me every night, and I don't expect you to. Whoever the guy was, he's probably learnt his lesson and won't try again."

She was right though, and soon he gave in, jumping onto her bed where she petted him for a while before drifting off to sleep again.

 

Despite the calmness in the room, Perry wouldn't rest, so went to check Heinz's room, this time by using the door. Quietly peeking around the door, he found that Heinz was asleep, muttering to himself.

"Cur-Curse you, Perry...the platypus. Curse you."

Perry smiled. He couldn't help it. Carefully he climbed up on the bed and curled up to sleep at his side, finally calming down enough to fall asleep.

 

"Perry the platypus, you know you can't make this a habit. You may be a guest in this house but your owners brought your bed along so you should be sleeping there; not here."

Perry looked at him through tired eyes then at the time. It was still early. He decided he'd risk the same move as yesterday and hope Heinz would take the hint and go back to sleep himself.

"You can't just act cute and expect me to fall for it every time."

Despite his protestations, he didn't move to shoo Perry off the bed and gradually gave in again.

"Can I ask you something, Perry?"

He took the 'Krrrr' response as a yes.

"All these years we've fought and you never used your spurs on me...Would you ever? I mean seriously you look back at how dangerous some of our situations have been and you've still come to my rescue rather than let me fall to my death. At what point would you just, you know, snap and give me a shot of venom?"

Perry shrugged. Even if he did catch him with his spurs, he could just as easily accidentally scratch him with them. It was always his decision when to release venom.

"Okay, for example, I mean your family no harm obviously, but if I did, then would you use it on me?"

He shrugged again but then thought about it and nodded.

"Right, that's what I thought...but as I said, I know how the whole agent and host family thing works and I'm not THAT evil. You know, I don't actually plan on hurting people, I just want them to bask in my glory. Is that too much to ask?"

Instead of any response, Perry climbed on to Heinz' chest and closed his eyes, trying to give him the hint.

"Okay, fine, you want to sleep, I get it."

Heinz himself yawned, having talked himself back to tiredness. The weight on his chest felt warm rather than heavy, and he could slightly feel a rhythmic beating of what must've been Perry's heart. It made him smile, and he rested his hand gently on Perry's back, feeling the heartbeat increase.

  
When Heinz woke a few hours later, he still found Perry sleeping on him, but also warmth at his side where Vanessa had at some point come in and lay down with them too. Carefully he put her arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his side. For the first time since his divorce, he felt happier than ever.

"Morning dad." Vanessa whispered, rubbing her eyes of sleep. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah, it was okay, despite having my nemesis using me as a pillow. Are you okay? It's a bit strange finding you in here as well, you haven't done that in years."

"I just...had a bit of a nightmare and wanted some comfort. I was surprised finding you cuddling your nemesis."

"We're not cuddling." Heinz protested, trying to keep his voice down so he wake Perry, "He just lay down on me and I was too tired to do anything about it Besides, he's like a furry hot water bottle. Seriously you should feel the warmth he gives off. "

"Looks like someone's going to miss him when he goes back home." she teased.

"No I won't, I'll see him every day anyway and I'll be building my inators again so how could I miss him?"

"Okay, if you say so. I'm going for breakfast, you coming?"

"I'll try. Just got to get this snore-pus off me."

Vanessa smiled and left them alone.

 

Heinz laid there for another 10 minutes until he could feel his bladder crying for release, so really he had no choice but to get up. He could just do the nemesis thing and throw Perry off him, and he berated himself for not wanting to do so. This pet sitting deal was making him soft.

Instead, he gently scratched under Perry's chin, smiling at the reaction he got as Perry's tail started wagging up and down, patting Heinz on the stomach.

"Come on Perry the sleep-apus, I've got to get up."  
  
Perry instead rolled onto his back, 'krrrr'ing and enjoying the attention.

"No really, I have to get up so get off me."

With a none too gentle shove he pushed Perry into the bed beside him and got up, receiving an angry 'krrrr'

"You can grrrr at me all you want, but I'm too old to be wetting the bed so you brought that on yourself when you didn't heed my warning."

Perry watched him go to the en suite and rolled his eyes, walking to the kitchen for breakfast of his own. Vanessa was already cooking eggs and bacon.

"Okay Perry, I'm confused actually. Do I feed you what your owners give you or do you want something else?"

Perry pointed up at his usual bag of food.

"You're right. I guess if we didn't give you that then your owners will think that we didn't feed you. Although I do appreciate you using the bathroom instead of the litter box."

She laughed as Perry blushed. After all, since he was in a household that knew his identity, why act like a normal platypus? Still he didn't insist on sitting at the table and still ate and drank on the floor near his bed.

 

Heinz quickly showered and changed into clean clothes, picking up the paper from the front door before joining the others in the kitchen. Vanessa put his bacon and eggs in front of him, quickly followed by toast.

"Thanks Vanessa, you're a real gem."

Opening the paper, he browsed in silence.

Perry tucked into his food as soon as it was put down in front of him, smiling when Vanessa had still included some bacon into the mix for him.

"Ha! Check out this ad! 'Lost. Virginity. Boo-ya!' I can't believe they actually printed that!"

Vanessa laughed too, but Perry ignored him. Heinz looked over and huffed, flicking over to the next page. Vanessa noticed but didn't question why things were suddenly cold between them.

"Aren't you having any breakfast?" Heinz asked her, noticing she was already washing up.

"Nope, I'm meeting friends and we're going to get food on the way."

"Oh...okay then."

She could tell from his tone of voice that he was disappointed and also maybe worried.

"Look, I'll be home in time for dinner, okay? Then we'll sit in and watch a few movies or something."

"Well alright then...Stay safe."

"I will, dad, please stop worrying about me."

"I'm your father, I never will." he said with a smile.

 

After Vanessa left, he continued reading the last few pages, laughing when he got to the cartoons.

"Oh Garfield, Nermal will always end up coming back. Bet that would happen if I tried to ship you to Abu Dhabi, Perry the platypus."

Perry continued to ignore him, finishing his food and just about reaching to put the bowl in the sink.

"What? You now giving me the cold shoulder? Really? I needed the toilet for crying out loud did you really want me to wet the bed? Because if I did then you would have had to change it because it would have been your fault."

Perry didn't know how to react. He'd noticed how close he was getting towards his nemesis. It was bad before but now he felt it was getting worse. Wanting a belly rub from his nemesis though, really? And he would have just rolled around and 'krrrr'd in delight at it like he was Heinz's pet?

No, this wasn't acceptable. It couldn't be. Determined to let these silly feelings pass, he decided he was going to keep distant to make sure he didn't allow such things to make him let his guard down.

 

Heinz spent most of the day drawing up new inator plans. After all, he agreed he wouldn't build any, but said nothing about designing upcoming ideas which would be useful for when he has a dry spell.

This left Perry bored and rather lonely lying on his bed, even though he partly wanted to be alone.

Vanessa came home after a trip to the mall and lunch out.

"Hey Perry. What's wrong?" she asked, kneeling down beside him.

Perry frowned, unsure of how to explain it. When she stroked him, he moved away from the contact.

"Did you and dad argue again? Or is this still about this morning?"

He 'krrrr'd, and she stroked his head once and left him alone. Even if Perry was up for talking, she wouldn't have understood any of it anyway. She hoped asking her dad would fill in the blanks quicker.

 

As she'd expected, he was drawing up blueprints. She announced her presence and sat down on the small sofa behind him.

"Dad what actually happened this morning?"

"What do you mean?" he said, not looking up from his work.

"Between you and Perry. One minute you're both happily sleeping in each other's company and the next you're both avoiding each other."

"I didn't do anything. I just wanted the toilet and I was busting to go, and he was too pre-occupied in getting a damn belly rub."

Heinz muttered when he pencil slipped, grabbing the easer and rubbing hard at the paper.

"Perry was expecting you to give him a belly rub?"

"I know, right? It's like he totally forgot we're nemesis and we don't do that sort of thing."

"Said the one who let him sleep on him all morning."

"What? You saying I instigated it?" he asked, still not looking up from the paper in front of him.

Vanessa stood, resting a hand on her dad's shoulder.

"Maybe...Look, dad, I know you were kind of close to Agent B, but you have to let it go. I'm sure whatever nemesis he's with now, he's fine."

 

It felt like a typical cliché really walking in on his nemesis and overhearing about an agent before him. He 'krrrr'd to announce his presence.

"Oh, Perry, it's you. How long have you been there?"

Perry had his arms crossed and raised an eyebrow, a sign that pretty much said 'Long enough'.

"Well, you might as well come sit down and tell you all about Agent B. As you can guess, he was assigned to deal with me before you. He was a rabbit and we were nemesis for about two years. He wasn't as skilled as you, but he was definitely quick on his feet when he needed to be. Then one day, an inator malfunctioned badly, and we had to evacuate the building. This was in my abandoned warehouse you see, but not the one I've got now cause, well obviously the other one was destroyed. They put it down to a gas leak so I got away with it, but when we escaped, the boy who owned Agent B was for some reason in the area. I didn't know this when I first saw him, but we both got him away safe too, but he suffered a head injury. Now it wasn't incredibly bad, just a cut that needed stitches but...well as you can imagine the parents weren't far behind, saw what had happened to their son and that their rabbit was an agent. So their minds were wiped, after the kid got stitched up obviously, and Agent B was reassigned. I felt really guilty because it was my fault."

Heinz wiped his eyes at the memory, taking in a deep breath.

" He loved them, you know? He kept a photo of them in a locket on his collar, a bit like the one I know you have, but don't worry, I haven't peeked. Anyway then you came along and I didn't really want to make the same mistake. But of course, after all we've been through...I took it rather badly when he was reassigned. You probably remember what I was like when you were first assigned to me."

Perry remembered it alright, and the welcome wasn't at all friendly. In fact Heinz had complained to the organization that they'd sent a new agent round, and what he considered a weird one at that. He even built stuff then just sat around and let it be destroyed without so much as putting up a fight or even speaking a word towards him.

Gradually though, after Perry made him laugh by falling off one of his inators (though not on purpose) the ice started to melt, and Heinz gradually started using his old traps again. Then gradually day by day he got a load of Heinz's backstory and they started to properly fight.

"It still kinda hurts now you know, but I learnt an important lesson from it. That's why I was so cold towards you at first. Now though, that lesson seems to be well out of the window because after all we've gone through...You're my best friend."

This made Perry smile, and he 'krrrr'd, hoping he knew that Heinz was his best friend too.


	4. Turning Soft

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The continuing fic series, now with belly rubs, chick flicks, and peach cobbler!

After Heinz had finished telling his story, he requested to be alone with his thoughts. Perry rested his smaller hand on his for a moment, then left.

For a while, Perry sat on his own bed looking at his own locket with Phineas and Ferb's pictures in. He couldn't imagine his life without the Flynn-Fletcher family.

At the adoption centre, he'd seen families come and go. Children looked at him, confused and unimpressed whilst parents didn't like the fact that he had the poisonous spurs and believed given half a chance he would hurt them. The Flynn-Fletchers however, well, they didn't even know what he was at first or seem to have any clue about the secret weapon nature gave him.

They treated him as family and he could never be more thankful. Smiling, he tucked the locket back in his fur and curled up, falling asleep almost instantly.

 

The sound of clinking glass made Perry stir sometime later, and he looked up to see Vanessa at the counter getting out drinking glasses and a bottle of pop.

"Hey Perry. We're going to watch a movie. You want to come and join us?"

Sitting up and yawning, he looked at the clock on the wall nodded. He'd been asleep for at least an hour. Reaching for his water bowl, he drank down what was there and headed for the lounge, sitting down on the couch beside Heinz but still with a respectable distance between them. Their eyes met briefly before both looking away. Feeling rather awkward, Heinz cleared his throat.

"Look, Perry the platypus, you know I am sorry about this morning. I just _really_ needed the toilet and you know what it's like, you know? When you gotta go, you've gotta go and... ah what the heck, you still want that belly rub?"

Perry grinned, laying on his back in anticipation.

"Now don't go telling your agents at OWCA about this, Perry the platypus, because this is the only time I'll do this for you."

 

Finally, the attention Perry had been craving since this morning. Sure, being stroked on the back was comforting, but there was something about a belly rub that he just couldn't resist. Heinz's long fingers with their neatly trimmed nails, splaying in and out across his stomach in an steady rhythm was so relaxing.

Perry 'krrrr'd with happiness, making Heinz smile. Neither of them noticed Vanessa joined them until she spoke.

"That should so not be as cute as it is."

"Don't you dare take a photo of this."

But Vanessa already had her phone out and the 'click' of the camera confirmed a picture had been taken.

"Too late. Don't worry, I'm not gonna share it with anyone." she said, turning to phone around the show them the picture.

"You'd better not. Now, what film did you pick tonight?"

"Mamma Mia!"

"A chick flick? Vanessa, really?"Heinz sounded exasperated at the idea. "I'm sure he doesn't want to watch that! Do you, Perry the platypus?"

Perry shrugged. He'd already seen it before anyway after Linda had convinced Lawrence to watching with her. There was no doubt that there was something kind of enjoyable about it, not that he was ever willing to admit it.

"I'm going to take that as a yes." Vanessa said with a smile, "It's either this or Twilight."

"Okay, okay! Mammy Moe it is!"

Heinz huffed in resignation, but really he didn't mind since it still meant he was spending time with his daughter.

"You know you really turn me soft, Perry the platypus. If anyone at Love Muffin hear about this my reputation will be non-existent."

Despite his dislike of the film, he couldn't help but sing along to the songs, being a secret ABBA fan himself. Although he took caution to not sing too loud for fear of mocking from either of his two companions.

At one point, Vanessa and Perry smiled at each other because despite Heinz singing almost under his breath, they could both still hear him and see his lips move to the words.

 

Perry huffed when his communicator went off. Why did they have to disturb him during a movie? Answering, Major Monogram's head appeared before him.

"Agent P, just an update on the Doofenshmirtz intruder situation. We managed to track the man down to Danville hospital where he received whatever treatment they could give, which as you know your venom isn't really treatable. The police however had been on the lookout for this man as he had committed break ins around and even beyond the tri-state area. He's in police custody and facing a sentence for his crimes."

"Really?" Heinz said, delighted, "I owe you for this, Francis."

"I'm sure I recall telling you to not call me by my first name."

"Hey, you guys are watching Mamma Mia?!" Carl's own hologram appeared, eyes glued to the tv.

"Carl, you've got work to do."

"But sir, it's getting to the good bit with the hen party!"

Despite his protestations, Carl's hologram quickly disappeared again.

Major Monogram tutted before continuing.

"Anyway, that's all I wanted to contact you about. Carry on with your movie."

 

They watched the last of it undisturbed, and by the end, Heinz was close to dozing off and Vanessa was rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"Well that was enjoyable," she said, standing up and turning the DVD off as the credits rolled, "but now I think I'm going to turn in for bed."

Heinz stood too, stretching.

"I will be too. What about you, Perry the platypus?"

Perry however was still wide awake after having his nap earlier, so shook his head.

"Fair enough, but turn everything off when you do." Heinz said before walking over to his daughter and hugging her.

"Goodnight dad."

"Goodnight sweetheart; and goodnight, Perry the platypus."

Heinz's hand petted Perry's head, knocking his fedora down over his eyes.

"Night Perry." Vanessa said, hugging him gently, "Thanks for watching the film with us."

Perry 'Krrrr'd' his goodnight and reached for the tv remote for something to watch.

 

Gradually though his eyes started to droop, so he turned the TV off and headed towards his bed in the kitchen. As he was doing so, he heard a sob break the silence. It definitely sounded feminine so it must've been Vanessa.

He tapped lightly on the door and peeked around. Vanessa appeared to be asleep, but was definitely in distress. A nightmare perhaps? Nervously, he approached and stood on the edge of the bed, 'krrrr'ing but it didn't do anything to wake her. He tried again but same result.

She became more upset, letting out a yelp, and Perry had no choice but to wake her. He pushed at her shoulder, 'krrrr'ing again and again until she finally woke with another yell and Perry almost fell off the bed as he backed away.

"Perry?" she said, realising she'd been crying. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. I just had a nightmare, that's all."

She took a deep breath, trying to steady her breathing in between sobs. Just then, Heinz appeared in the doorway, dressing gown on (and his usual boxer shorts) but not done up in his haste to check on his daughter. He turned on her light, looking worried.

"Vanessa, what happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, dad. I was just having a nightmare and Perry woke me up."

Heinz let out a breath he didn't know he he'd been holding and realized his dressing gown was open so hastily tied it up before sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Was it because of that guy? Have you been having these nightmares every night?"

"No, I haven't...Well, not every night. I've been trying to block out what happened. I guess with Major Monogram bringing it up again this evening...I just."

Sliding along the bed, he rested his hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"Vanessa, sweetheart, you can't forget about it just like that. I admire that you haven't let this experience stop you from doing things from day to day, but you can't just bottle the whole thing up and expect it to never come up again."

"But I can't be afraid all the time. Mom will probably want to know what's wrong with me, and if they've got him under lock and key then I know he won't hurt me. I'm sorry you guys, I'm fine. You can both go back to bed."

"Sweetheart, maybe we should just talk about this. I mean, your mother will eventually find out somehow."

"NO! I don't want to talk about it."Pulling away from her father's contact, she wrapped her arms around herself, "Just...go...please."

With a sigh, he relented. They were all very tired, so it would be best to wait till morning.

"Alright, I'll go, BUT Perry the platypus stays to keep an eye on you."

Perry looked at Heinz then Vanessa and shrugged.

"Alright, Perry, if you want to stay then you can."

He nodded, and only at this did they all calm down enough to settle back to bed. Again, Perry received a pat on the head from Heinz before leaving them be with the door ajar.

 

After the house went silent again, Vanessa lay staring up at the ceiling, one hand stroking across Perry's back. It was this night Perry found out that she had her father's tendency to talk on and on whilst he lay down and listened.

"I'm sorry if I worried you, Perry, and obviously also sorry dad's making you stay here with me. I know he wants to protect me, but he can't always do that. I know he's guilty that that guy managed to get into our home and he wasn't there to immediately fight him off, but I don't actually blame him for what happened."

Perry listened with great interest. He'd never actually heard her talk in such length about stuff like this in all the years he's known her.

"I mean, yes, he did try to attack the guy but... well you know how well that went. You don't think that when you go, he'll try and change himself physically to fight against intruders do you? I'm just worried that he'll overdose on steroids or something to try and build muscle or hurt himself using heavy weights. He can be a pain and most of all an embarrassment most of the time, but he's still my dad and I do love him."

As tired as he was, Perry tried to remain awake until she had monologue'd herself to sleep, which fortunately for him wasn't long coming. Only problem was now his mind was starting to think about what she'd said. What if Heinz did hurt himself trying to bulk up and protect his daughter? He tried to quickly quash these ideas with the most likely scenario that he would probably build an inator to deal with intruders.

 

The next morning, Perry was called away on an assignment, which he was pretty thankful for since he knew that Vanessa and her father were most likely want to be alone whilst they talked about the events of night before.

By the time he returned, exhausted and hungry, things seemed to be normal. Vanessa had gone out somewhere with friends, and Heinz was watching the TV.

"Hey, Perry the platypus, have fun thwarting someone else today?"

Perry shrugged. He was okay with filling in for other agents, but he did miss fighting against Heinz. They knew each other pretty well by now, so knew what to expect and had kind of a routine. Enter penthouse, get captured, listen to monologue with possible tragic back story, break inator and leave. Rinse, wash, and repeat. Whilst to some that would sound boring after a while, they always knew that something unexpected would also often happen to break the monotony.

 

"Well if you're hungry I can do you your bowl of...whatever that stuff is that you eat. There's also peach cobbler for dessert."

When Perry smiled and nodded, Heinz smiled back and got up to serve Perry his food. Shovelling down his dinner, Perry started immediately hiccuping and reached for his water bowl to find it empty.

Heinz laughed.

"Perry the platypus, you sound so cute when you hiccup!" he said, taking the bowl and filling it "That'll teach you for eating your food too fast."

Serving up the plate of peach cobbler, Perry ate a bit slower, savouring the taste. He had to hand it to Heinz, he could make a delicious peach cobbler.

"When you're done, why not come sit with me? New episode of 'El Matador de Amor' starts in five minutes!"

 

As if he would say no to that.


	5. Too Close! Last Night In The House Of Doofenshmirtz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the time nears for the Flynn-Fletcher family to return home, Heinz and Perry grow closer still.

It was early morning and Perry was happily dozing on Heinz's bed when his wrist communicator rang. Through heavy eye lids, he answered.

  
"Agent P, we need you. Agent D is off ill at the vet, so you'll have to deal with his nemesis today. We've dropped off a rocket pack with the address attached out on the balcony, so please get on it right away."

  
With a groan, Heinz rolled over to face Perry.

  
"Does he always wake you up this early?"

  
Perry nodded, pointing at him.

  
"What? Because of me?...You know I never thought about that. I guess with you under my roof and no evil schemes going on, I have been sleeping in longer recently. Well, have fun thwarting someone who isn't me. I'll just...sleep."

  
Within moments, Heinz was asleep again. Perry rolled his eyes but then smiled, and with a yawn he made his way to the balcony.

  
"MORNING PERRY THE PLATYPUS! LEAVING ALREADY?"

  
Perry almost jumped out of his fur at the voice, wondering how he hadn't even heard Norm approaching. Turning around to face the robot giant, he nodded.

  
"WITHOUT BREAKFAST? HERE, HAVE A CEREAL MUFFIN."

  
Taking it, Perry raised an eyebrow but ate it anyway. It tasted good. With a smile and a 'Krrrr' of thanks, he waved at Norm and shot off to his destination in the jet pack.

 

The next few days were pretty much the same. Perry had to go on additional missions but he'd always be back in time for dinner. On one occasion, Vanessa greeted him with the words "Oh, there you are, Perry!", and he suddenly felt an twinge of guilt. It wasn't that he didn't think of his family whilst they were gone, no, but he'd been made to feel at home with the Doofenshmirtz's that it was like living with a second family.

 

The house went quiet at around midnight, and Perry sat at the living room window staring at the star filled sky. Today, he knew that his family were on their way back to Danville and would pick him up that afternoon. He hoped that they had fun even if he wasn't able to be with them and hoped they were all okay. Imagining the smiles on their faces and the attention he was probably going to receive, he smiled in anticipation.

  
There was still at least twelve, maybe thirteen hours before he was going to be picked up though, so he still had tomorrow morning to enjoy being in their company without it being work related. Something he was going to have to get used to returning to within another 24 hours.

  
Yawning, Perry decided it was time to sleep, briefly looking at his bed in the kitchen. He'd only slept on it for one night, and after a moment's consideration, he wasn't going to sleep on it tonight either. This was the last night he and Heinz would spend in each other's company in a domestic atmosphere, so he was going to savour it.

  
The bedroom door was ajar, which was not unusual since Heinz made a habit of doing it for Perry lately. Entering, he found Heinz with an open book and the bedside lamp on. On hearing the platypus' presence, he closed it and placed it on the table beside him.

 

"Hey, Perry the platypus. Want to come lie with me? Might as well since you've been lying on my bed all week anyway."

  
Perry rested on his back beside Heinz who immediately took the hint and started lazily rubbing his belly.

  
"You and your belly rubs. I hope you realise when things get back to normal I won't be doing this for you. Still I guess you'll have...your family."

  
Looking down, he couldn't help but smile as Perry 'krrrr'd in ecstasy, his left leg thumping out a rhythm and throwing his head back and forth.

  
"I should seriously rebuild that mind-transfer-inator and we could switch and I could see why you like belly rubs so much."

  
Perry couldn't stop in his euphoria, rubbing his bill against Heinz' cheek as a sign of great affection towards him. This didn't go unnoticed and Heinz stopped, looking down at his nemesis; his best friend.

  
"You know this is really strange us being this close." he muttered, pulling Perry closer to him as he spoke, "I'm sorry for all the times I seriously hurt you. I know you're my nemesis, but you're also my best friend, Perry the platypus, and...well...I think you know."

  
Perry was so close he could smell the soap on the man's skin mixed in with whatever his own natural scent was. It was nice, and he felt warm and relaxed.

  
"This past week I've been at my happiest for a long time." Heinz continued, "Whoever your family is, they're very fortunate to have you."

 

This was dangerous now, them being so close. Major Monogram couldn't know about this. And yet what could they do? He couldn't lose his host family, but neither could he lose Heinz. Everything was now so confusing.

  
Feeling a sudden wash of dread, he pulled away from the embrace and sat on the end of the bed. Heinz instantly regretted his actions and words. Why couldn't he just leave well alone? Dummkopf!

  
"Perry? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel awkward...If you want to go sleep somewhere else... then I understand."

Perry remained where he was, unsure. He knew he should leave before this got out of hand, but then he wanted the comfort with him. So lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice as Heinz moved to sit beside him. The sight of his nemesis in just a vest and boxers patterned with hearts should either make him feel creeped out or laugh, but he completely ignored this fact.

  
"I know what you must be thinking. I don't know what to do either, but you can't lose your family. I already made this mistake once, and I won't let it happen again. I don't expect you to understand how I feel about you, and I certainly don't expect you to feel the same about me but...I just wanted you to know."

 

What even was this? They were two totally different species for crying out loud. Was this something verging on what they call 'bestiality'? Surely not! It's not like they had engaged in any sort of...acts. They were just very close, as best friends should, but sadly, not how nemesis should.

  
Perry stood on Heinz's lap, looking up at him, conflicted. Part of him wanted this arrangement to never end, but knew he'd have to face the music and things would return back to normal soon. Just this last night though, he wanted to give in to his feelings.

  
When Perry started to nuzzle his neck, Heinz took Perry's small hands gently in his thumbs and forefingers.

  
"Perry, whatever...this is, we shouldn't. If Major Monogram found out."

 

  
He was silenced as Perry 'Krrrr'd, jumping up to wrap his arms around Heinz's slim neck. All abandon was lost, and he gave in to Perry's affection, hugging him as close as possible without suffocating him. He didn't really know what he should do to show more affection. He certainly didn't plan on kissing the platypus, and with a bill instead of lips where the heck was he going to go with that one? Instead, he rubbed his nose along Perry's bill, feeling the soft, rubbery length along his skin. It was strange to say the least, but it was the best form of affection he could think of at that moment.

At the first touch, Perry blushed at the contact, but quickly mirrored the movement.

  
Heinz felt a warm feeling within him, and he laughed just out in happiness. He knew that this probably wouldn't last and that eventually something would slip, so he enjoyed the closeness for as long as it would last.

Pinning Perry down to the bed, his hands went to Perry's stomach, starting a tortuously good belly rub. There was nothing Perry could do to stop him. The sensations thrumming though him was too much and he rolled around 'krrrr'ing in delight, his body pretty much vibrating and tail thumping against the mattress underneath him like a heartbeat.

  
Eventually he couldn't take it any more, trying to roll away and almost falling off the bed  had it not been for Heinz's quick reaction in catching him mid-fall.

  
"Okay, okay. That's enough excitement for tonight. I think now we're going to have to just try and get some sleep."

  
Perry curled up next to Heinz who was lying on his side and had wrapped his arm around the dozy platypus.

  
"Goodnight, Perry the platypus."

As usual, Perry gave a response before closing his eyes, and gradually lulling into a calm sleep. This would probably be the last time they would be so close to each other like this, and Perry would remember every moment of it.


End file.
